The practice of writing information on a piece of paper and arranging groups of similar information together in a book type form has been in use since the invention of paper by Ts' Al Lun in the first century A.D. But it was not until the fifteenth century, when Johann Gutenberg invented printing from movable type, that books became available for common men and women. Movable type printing allowed books to be printed quickly, in greater numbers, and sold for a price that people other than the wealthy only could afford.
At first, the only book that may governments would allow to be printed was the bible, in the fear that if the lower classes read other material they would become influenced (and educated), and revolt. While it is true that certain books have led to civil disobedience and even rebellion, the positive benefits books have provided far outweigh the negative.
Today, in the western world there are basically two classes of books: recreational books and educational reference books. As a generalization, recreational books are those read for pleasure and can be commonly found in paperback form. Educational/reference books are usually used by students or professionals in a certain field to learn about a specific topic or topics.
What all books have in common, though, is that they are constructed with a front cover and a rear cover, with pages in-between. Paperback books, as their name implies, use covers that are made of a lightweight cardboard material. Educational/reference books are usually hardcover books, with significantly thicker and stronger covers. Regardless of the type utilized, book covers are often subjected to damage. This is especially true for paperback covers which are easily torn, bent or even removed from the book binding.
The easiest and most efficient way to protect a book is to use a book cover. Book covers are available in many sizes and styles, and school children are often taught how to make book covers out of paper bags. The major drawback to book covers though is that a single cover must be made for each book. Additionally, book covers cause any writing on the books' cover, such as the book's title, to be hidden. If a person has numerous books that are all covered with identical covers, it is difficult to distinguish each book.
Obviously, if there was a single book cover that could be utilized for multiple thickness books it would be beneficial. Fortunately, especially among paperback books, there is a common size factor for the book's width and length. Therefor, if a single book cover could be made that would accommodate books of various thickness, and utilize materials and/or designs that would allow a person to easily identify the book, the benefits would be significant.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
PATENT NO.INVENTORISSUED5,004,514Pugliese, et al2 Apr. 19974,893,979Alpers16 Jan. 19904,744,592Barnette, et al17 May 1988
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,514 patent discloses a protective book covering including a relatively long piece of sheet material and a relatively short piece of sheet material overlying the long piece. The longitudinal edges of the two sheets are sealed together. A seal and tear line extending transverse to their longitudinal edges joins the two pieces and forms a line of severance along which the pieces can be torn to produce two units. Each unit has a pocket adjacent to the seal and tear line for accommodating one of the covers of a book. One of the units has a section, extending from the pocket of that unit, long enough to wrap around the spine of the book and be secured to the other unit.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,979 patent discloses a supplemental cover for reinforcing a book having a spine, a first cover and a second cover. The supplemental cover consists of a first stiff sheet and a second sheet. The second sheet consists of a flexible region and a stiff region. The first sheet is adhered to the first cover of the book, and the flexible region of the second sheet is adhered to the spine of the book and the first sheet. The stiff region of the second sheet is adhered to the second cover of the book.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,592 patent discloses a laminate and method for protecting books. The laminate consists of a stiff rectangular sheet adhered through a pressure sensitive adhesive to a thin flexible transparent rectangular sheet, which is of the same height as but wider than the stiff sheet. The two sheets are juxtaposed so that three edges of each sheet mutually coincide. The flexible sheet has a flexible rectangular side portion or extension to which the stiff sheet is not adhered. The stiff sheet is preferably of the same dimension as the book to be covered.